Mixed Media Assemblage | 10 x 14 x 4 inches | Custom Framed
 
Second Chances is a contemporary assemblage that reframes the phoenix myth through the lens of American history. Drawing on the arc of former U.S. President Richard Nixon, it considers both the possibility and the limits of redemption.
 
A toppled, broken miniature of Nixon’s Oval Office chair signals a dramatic fall from grace, while tiny bottles hint at attempts to blunt humiliation. At right, built from dollhouse picture frames, wood, and fabric is a crucible for a rising phoenix, its medieval imagery digitally tuned to the palette. Three of the chair’s four legs jut out from the flames — a stark reminder that recovery begins with accepting loss. 
 
Hints of gold and the warm glow of a necklace in amber, Murano glass, and freshwater-pearls play against a dark ground, balancing austerity with renewal. 
 
Measured in tone, the piece suggests that unlike the mythical bird that returns unchanged, people rarely revert to a former state — yet they remain capable of remarkable reinvention.
 
Materials: Amber, Murano glass, freshwater pearls, dollhouse miniatures, digitally altered photograph, fabric, gimp, acrylic paint, wood
 
Framing: Custom shadow box with museum glass in a deep black wooden frame, created in collaboration with Chevy Chase Art Gallery, Washington, DC.